Three Cheers to Fifth Year
by Lillith Cantrell
Summary: Remus Lupin is a quiet boy of 15. Larkime Cantrell is a morose girl of 15. She loves him, he loves her, but will they ever, ever tell eachother? Yeah, I gave up on this story, but I have a new one.
1. Marauders

_Disclaimer : Okay. So, everyone but Larkime Cantrell belongs to Joanne Kathleene Rowling. Der._

**Chapter One** : Marauders.

Remus Lupin was a Marauder…but wasn't the typical mold for one. James Potter and Sirius Black were into rule-breaking, girls, Quidditch, and girls, and themselves. Peter Pettigrew was just kind-of there, in James' and Sirius' shadow. Remus, however, was different. He was quiet, morose, and very smart, but also quite good-looking. Though, he was like the other Marauders in one way. He was hopelessly striving for the attention of one girl, and one girl only.

Larkime (pronounced Lark (like the bird)-ah-me) Cantrell was a dark girl all around. She had intelligent, calculating amber eyes and shoulder length dark brown hair, that no matter how hard she tried, always seemed to fall into her eyes.. She always wore black make up and had a dark personality, though most boys seemed to find her deep, mysterious, and very interesting. She was a short fifth-year and was best friends with Lily Evans, a girl with wavy red hair and hazel eyes who was very pretty, and who James Potter happened to be very, very obsessed with. Lily always put up every sign of hating him, but Lark knew better. Lark was also smitten with Remus Lupin, though she'd never, ever admit it to him.

It was breakfast in the Great Hall, and Lark and Lily moved down the table, having just come from upstairs. They spotted the Marauders and Lark automatically sought out Remus. There he was, in conversation with Sirius. Sirius glanced up and winked at Lark. Unlike the vast majority of girls at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Lark found Sirius sickening and hated the way girls flocked to him like he was some brilliant display at a museum. No, Sirius Black was not Lark's type at all. Remus glanced up too, to see what Sirius was looking at, and his brilliant blue eyes met Lark's brown ones. Suddenly, Lark had an insane desire to run over to Remus and hug him, and to tell him that she really, really, REALLY liked him, but she fought down the urge and merely flicked her eyes to the empty space her and Lily were heading towards.

"Are you EVER going to tell him, Lark?" Lily asked in-between bites of eggs. Lark shook her dark head, glaring moodily at her sausages. She hated hiding things from people. It seemed so juvenile, but she couldn't just tell Remus that she had been in love with him since she had even understood love. The way he laughed so quietly, and his brilliant blue eyes and his quiet, intelligent, musical voice…and his hair and the way it frosted his eyes so perfectly and the way he could have such a spirited conversation on just about any subject for hours, and how he could draw you into him with only a few words…make you feel what he was saying and make you want to sit there for hours and look into the icy blue swirls of his soul…and the way that he made any subject interesting…no, she most certainly could not tell him that.

"Lark?" Lily's voice brought her back to Earth with a jarring crash.

"What?" She asked, startled.

"Are you ever going to tell Remus?" Lily asked, a slightly amused smirk playing about her lips.

Lark rolled her eyes.

"No. I just can't. It'd be to weird." Lark said quietly. She could just see Remus from here. He was eating his eyes occasionally sweeping the Great Hall, but mostly they were just focused on the Transfiguration book in front of him.

Remus Lupin watched Larkime Cantrell walk by him and his fellow Marauders at the Gryffindor table. He was talking to Sirius about her when Sirius looked up and winked at someone. Remus followed his gaze and his eyes met the dark pools that belonged to his only love.

"Moony, tell her, mate." Sirius said, watching Remus stare after her. Remus shook his head vaguely. He was still staring at Lark. She was so incredibly beautiful. He loved the way her dark eyes were always peeking out behind her hair, and the way she talked so fluently her voice sounded like a river…how she was so polite and nice to people, especially younger students. He loved how her laugh sound like distant bells, and how she was so intelligent and you could always find her reading up on some fascinating subject. He loved how when a teacher asked a question she put her hand up uncertainly but always gave the precise answer. He loved how, in the Gryffindor common room, she was always saying something that had the people around her laughing. He loved how she loved to make people smile, but had such a hard time doing it herself…but when she did, it was like a glorious sunset to Remus. He would never forget the time that she had been sitting with a group of her friends, and they had her laughing so hard she had slipped right out of her chair and lay on the floor, laughing her head off. Remus had been sorely tempted to go over and laugh with her, to hold her in his arms and watch her smile.

"Moony, mate?" James said, leaning around Sirius.

"What?" Remus asked, tearing his eyes away from the vision of perfection he'd been staring at and looking at James.

"Staring at Lark again?" James asked sympathetically. Remus nodded slightly, returning to his Transfiguration book.

"Moony, why are you reading that on a Saturday?" Peter asked. Remus shrugged, not even really seeing the book at all, and sneaking glances over at Lark. She and Lily got up and began to make their way out of the Great Hall, and James looked at Lily.

"HEY EVANS!" He yelled, causing half the students to look at him. Lily rolled her eyes and muttered something to Lark, who smiled faintly. They approached and Remus found himself almost breathless when Lark sat next to him, preparing to watch the show between Lily and James.

"Hello Remus." She said quietly, smiling at him. He didn't know it, but her heart was racing just as much as his was.

"Potter." Lily said calmly. James looked at her carefully.

"So, you know, there's a Hogsmeade visit next weekend and…" James' voice trailed off, and he looked only slightly hopefully at Lily.

"You were wondering if I'd go with you?" Lily finished for him. Lark always thought Lily was a bit cruel to James, but she knew that Lily was only covering up her own feelings for him.

"Yes." James said. He and Lily were standing about a foot apart.

"Y…NO!" Lily shouted, laughing along with the rest of the Gryffindor table.

"Try to not be so arrogant and fatheaded and maybe I'll reconsider!" Lily added nastily. Lark felt a pang of pity for James as he sat down, looking very much like Lily had slapped him across the face.

"Come on Lark." Lily said. Lark got reluctantly up from the table, but stopped half-way through.

"No, Lily, you go on ahead, I have to talk to Remus about some Charms homework." Remus looked up at Lark as Lily walked away, hardly daring to believe that the girl of his dreams had just passed up being with her best friend to be with him.

_Okay, I'm getting tired of writing. More to come so read, reveiw, and look out! Hearts :)_


	2. Charms Homework

_Disclaimer: I only own Larkime._

**Chapter Two : **Charms Homework

"So, Remus, _will_ you help me with my Charms homework?" Larkime Cantrell asked Remus Lupin. All four of the Marauders exchanged glances.

"Of course Lark." Remus replied, smiling warmly. Lark felt her heart skip a beat and smiled just as warmly back.

"I'll see you guys later." Remus said, getting up from the Gryffindor table and grabbing his Transfiguration book. Lark and Remus walked out of the Great Hall and, when Lark looked back, she saw the remaining three Marauders put their heads together. She figured they were talked about Remus and her. She rolled her eyes and continued to follow Remus, who stopped at the foot of the marble staircase.

"Can I just drop off my Transfiguration book? It's a bit of a bother to carry around...while I'm up there you can get your Charms book and then we can go to an empty classroom." Remus said politely. Lark nodded and together they made the long trek up to Gryffindor Tower, which was located on the seventh floor.

Remus entered his dormitory and grinned very broadly, doing a little dance. The girl of his dreams, _Larkime Cantrell_, was asking him for help for her Charms homework! They might even spend the whole day together! Maybe if things went okay, he'd ask Lark to go with him on the Hogsmeade trip. Suddenly, Remus remembered Lark waiting for him in the Common Room. He threw his book onto his bed and hurried down the stairs to meet her.

Lark hurried up the spiral staircase to the fifth year girls' dormitory. She threw herself onto her bed and punched the air. She was going to spend the whole day with Remus! She'd make sure of it too...even if she had to pretend to not get Charms at all, she would spend the whole day with him. Sighing happily, she got off her bed, grabbed her Charms book, and scurried down the stairs.

The Common Room was empty, so Lark just stood in front of the small fire, picking up bits of parchment off the floor and tossing them in. She heard someone coming down the boys' stairs and turned, There was Remus, smiling slightly.

"Ready?" He asked. Lark nodded and followed him out of the portrait hole. Remus began to lead her down the stairs. She followed and soon they arrived outside of an empty classroom. Remus held the door open for her and she smiled at him before going in.

The classroom was large and it had a clear space in the middle. It didn't look like it was ever used. Remus followed Lark in and shut the door behind him. Lark began flipping through pages of her Charms book until she finally got to the page she wanted. Remus looked at the book.

"Banishing Charms? I have a lot of trouble with those too. I might not be much help." Remus said, smiling sheepishly. Lark grinned.

"Well, at least we'll get better together." She said. Remus smiled and conjured up a box of chalk.

"We'll start small." He said, lining up the chalk into a neat row. "But first, shall we see if our Summoning Charms are up to scratch?" Lark shrugged.

"We've got all day." She said, and Remus' mouth opened in surprise.

"You're devoting a whole Saturday to this?" He asked incredulously. Lark shrugged.

"As long as you don't have something to do." She said quietly. Remus shook his head and pulled out his wand, his mind reeling. She wanted to spend the whole day with him. It was amazing. She was amazing. He cleared his throat and said, _"Accio Chalk!"_ The chalk nearly made it to his hand. He kicked it.

"That's okay Remus, but let me try." Lark said, smiling. "_Accio Chalk!"_ The chalk zoomed neatly into Lark's outstretched hand. She gave it to Remus.

"I'm good at Summoning Charms…I just don't get why I can't do Banishing Charms." She said, a note of frustration in her voice.

"Maybe you're the type of person that, once you have something, you don't want to let it go." Remus said quietly. Lark looked at him. She studied his profile for a moment before he looked at her. They just stood there for a moment, wands held loosely at their sides, staring into each others' eyes.

"You're right." Lark murmured, taking a dream like step forward.

"Does anyone ever let go of anything, especially people or love, willingly?" Remus whispered, also moving closer to Lark.

"I don't know." She said, almost silently. They were so close now, she could count the flecks of green in Remus' blue eyes. Their faces were only six inches apart…now five…now four…now three…now two…

It happened in a millisecond. One moment Lark was staring into Remus' eyes, the next, her dark eyes were closed and Remus' lips were pressed against her's. Every thought she had seemed so very far away…all she could think about was Remus. They both broke away and looked at each other, a stunned look in both their eyes.

"Banishing Charms!" Remus said, and Lark smiled nervously. They got their wands at the ready.

"Okay, now you want to do kind of a sweeping flick…" Remus said, putting his hand over her's and doing the motion. Lark looked down at their hands and so did Remus. They smiled shiftily.

"Okay. Try." Remus said. Lark swept her wand across the air and the chalk Remus held in his hand went soaring off.

"I did it!" Lark cried. Remus laughed.

"Try again." He said, picking up another piece of chalk. Lark Banished that too.

A few hours later, Lark and Remus had abandoned their Charms work and headed out onto the snow-covered grounds. Remus kept staring at Lark. It was snowing, and Lark's hair looked like she had tiny crystals in it. The snowflakes also clung to her eyelashes, giving her eyes a beautiful, dreamlike shimmer. Remus could not believe he was out here, walking beside the girl he'd loved since third year, and she was laughing at his jokes and talking very enthusiastically about every subject he brought up.

"You're a prefect aren't you?" Lark said quietly, when the silence had stretched to long. Remus nodded.

"It's not like it does me any good. The main rule-breakers are my friends, and I help them at it, so, really, it's entirely pointless for Dumbledore to have made me a prefect." Lark laughed.

"You know, I've smiled and laughed more with you today than I have in a long time." She said thoughtfully. Remus smiled faintly, trying not to appear to pleased, even though he thought that Lark might've figured out he was in love with her by now.

"So is that a good or a bad thing?" Remus asked. Lark turned to him ,smiling.

"It's a very good thing." She whispered, staring out over the grounds.


	3. A Snowy Walk

"Lark?" Someone yelled behind Lark as she wove her way through the students from dinner on Friday evening. She stopped and turned. Remus was hurrying towards her.

"Hello Remus." Lark said. They had decided to act like they were just friends, and that the kiss never happened, though Lark couldn't get it off of her mind.

"Hi." He said, walking beside her. "Do you want to go for a walk or something?" Lark smiled at him.

"Sure, but let's go get our cloaks." She said. Remus nodded and the pair of them walked up to Gryffindor Tower. Agreeing that they would meet back in the Common Room in five minutes, Remus and Lark went into their dormitories. When Lark entered, she saw Lily laying on her bed, writing furiously in her journal. She looked up when Lark came in and her face relaxed into a smile.

"Hey." She said, resuming her writing.

"Hello, I have five minutes." Lark replied, rummaging in her trunk for her favorite midnight blue and silver cloak. She found it and pulled it out.

"Oh…_that_ cloak? Where're you going?" Lily asked, a mischievous smile playing about her lips.

"Walk with Remus." Lark said promptly, smirking at her friend. Lily laughed and tossed Lark some eyeliner.

"You're going to need that." She said. Lark smiled again and walked into their dorm bathroom. She applied it carefully and smiled quickly at her reflection before exiting the bathroom. She slid off her Hogwarts robe and frowned at the shirt she was wearing. She pulled out a Quidditch shirt and changed while Lily didn't look. She was satisfied with the jeans she was wearing and threw on her cloak.

"How do I look?" Lark asked, spinning in a circle.

"Like someone who's about to be late." Lily replied. Lark stuck out her tongue at her best friend and hastened down the stairs, but took the last few slowly. She didn't want to seem to eager.

Remus was waiting for her at the foot of the stairs. He smiled when he saw her and the two left the Common Room together. They walked through the castle in silence and pushed open the oaken front doors. The dim, snowy scene that met their eyes looked incredibly inviting. Remus held the door open while Lark walked out, and let it close behind him. The stars were just beginning to blossom in the early December sky as Remus and Lark walked down by the lake. Just like last week, the snow gently fell onto Lark's head, making it appear as though she had tiny crystals in her hair.

"Lark?" Remus said quietly after a few minutes silence. Lark looked at him.

"Yes?" She asked, just as quietly. Remus screwed up his face, as though trying to get courage for what he was about to say.

"Will you…um…will…er…wiougotoogsmeadewifme?" Remus said, and immediately shut his eyes in embarrassment.

"Sorry?" Lark said, the faintest smile around her lips. She knew what he had asked.

"Will you go to Hogsmeade with me?" Remus said carefully. Lark's smirk broke into a grin. It suddenly struck Remus how very beautiful her face was when she smiled. Her eyes sparkled and her whole face seemed to shine.

"Of course!" She said. Remus grinned too. They walked a bit more in silence before, Lark, getting tired of the silence, suddenly swooped down and picked up some snow. She threw it at Remus who looked at her with amusement burning in his amazing eyes. She picked up some snow and returned fire. Soon, they were running all over the grounds throwing snowballs at each other.

"Shit," Lillith said, panting, "we have to get back up to the castle." Remus nodded and led the way towards the brightly lit castle. They entered with ten minutes to spare. Running flat-out, they made it to Gryffindor Common Room just in time. Ignoring the whistles, Lark walked through the Common Room to the girls' staircase, intending to go up to change, but was stopped just as soon as she put her foot on the first stair.

"Hey Cantrell! Cantrell!" It was James Potter. Lark turned, glaring.

"Yes?" She said, now beginning to shiver because of her wet clothes. He regarded her carefully.

"Do you like Moony?" He asked. Lark rolled her eyes, deeply annoyed.

"What's it to you, Potter?" She asked, but she knew full well.

"Moony's one of my best mates." He said. Lark shrugged and turned away, running up the staircase before he could interrogate her more. Did she really make it that obvious? It was alright for a girl and a guy to be together a lot and not like each other, like Lily and Jake, a fifth year boy in Ravenclaw. But, there was the fact that yes, she liked Remus more than Remus would ever know, and it was becoming increasingly hard not to tell him, but the fear of rejection always set her straight. Remus was just to…good to like her. She sighed and changed into some clean and dry clothes. Lark grabbed a book and she headed back down to the Common Room, deep in thought. Maybe she should tell him at the Hogsmeade visit. But, he, after all, had asked her on the date, and had asked her to go for a walk with him. She settled herself in an arm chair behind the Marauders and began to read, but not seeing the words really. She was still deeply in thought. She frowned at the book. Her mind was blank but she felt like it was going a thousand miles a minute.

After Lark and Remus had entered the Common Room, Remus had gone right over to the Marauders.

"Moony! Did you ask her?" Sirius said, scooting his chair closer to him. Remus nodded, smiling.

"At least the girl you're obsessed with doesn't hate you." James said bitterly from a chair on the other side of Remus. Remus often felt bad for James, but was to caught up in his personal victory to care much.

"She said yes. Can you believe it? Larkime Cantrell said yes!" Remus said to Sirius. Sirius smiled. He could believe it, actually. Remus was a very, very cool person, and he was extremely obsessed with Lark. He'd have a word or two to say to her, had she refused. He had rarely seen his friend so happy.

"Hey look, it's her." Remus whispered, his eyes drinking in Lark. She was holding a book in her arm, but she seemed very deep in thought. He frowned slightly too. He wondered who, or what, she was thinking about…and who she tried to be so pretty for. He wondered who was lucky enough to get the affection of the vision of perfection striding to an armchair. His mind flicked back to their kiss. His frown then turned into a smile.

"Moony, you better get to bed. Big day for you tomorrow, mate." James said, a few hours later, clapping Remus on the back. Lark still hadn't gone up to bed. She was just sitting there, reading. He watched her dark eyes whiz back and fourth for a few moments before she marked her place, snapped the book shut, and sighed. She bid the Marauders all except Sirius goodnight, and headed up to her dormitory. Remus figured that it was pointless to remain out here any longer.

"Let's all go to bed." He said quietly. The Marauders agreed and, together, they ascended the stairs to their comfortable, four poster beds.


	4. Unexpected

_As we **all** know by now, I only own Larkime._

**Chapter four:**Unexpected.

Lark jerked awake on Saturday morning, as suddenly and as fully as if someone had thrown ice cold water on her. It took her a minute to remember why today was so exciting, and when she did, she grinned. She was going to Hogsmeade with Remus! Lark threw the covers off of her and was about to step into the shower when she heard the unmistakable rush of wings. She poked her head out of the bathroom and saw her snowy owl North sitting on her bed. Lark raised an eyebrow. Why had the owl come now? It was only about 45 minutes until the mail at breakfast... Frowning, she walked over to her bed and deattached the scroll tied to her owl's leg. She stroked North fondly before she took flight to the Owlery.

Lark turned her attention to the scroll. It had to be urgent. She unrolled it carefully and her breath caught in her throat.

_Lark,_

_  
I'm very sorry to have to tell you this, but your grandmother Cantrell died last night in St. Mungo's. As you know, she was very ill for a long time...the Healers say that her life went a few days longer than expected. They tried everything they could. There was no saving her. Your father, your brothers and sister and I will be coming to get you by Apparating into Hogsmeade tomorrow. We will be informing Professor Dumbledore of this by this afternoon. Please bring enough things to last you a week at home. You'll be going back to Hogwarts on Friday. I know you were very close with your grandmother...I can't really offer much sympathy in a letter...but the pain will pass. _

Love,

_Mum._

Tears were starting to burn her eyes. Why? Why did her grandmother have to die now? Lark didn't even get to say goodbye to her. She reread the letter, and, though she didn't feel them, she saw tears spalshing onto the parchment, smudging the ink. How could she explain to Remus? They'd both been so excitied, but Lark couldn't feel anything but shock and pain at the moment. She set the letter carefully aside and went back to her shower, wiping tears away.

Thirty minutes later, Lark went down to the Common Room, not sure if she wanted to go down to breakfast. She had purposely been in the shower until all the girls who shared her dorm wnet to breakfast. She didn't even really want to tell Lily. Lark stared at the brightly burning fire. She had to find Remus. She had to tell him right away. Lark turned away from the fire and wove through the tables and armchairs until she reached the portrait hole. She swung it open and found herself face-to-face with a very concerned looking Remus.

"Lark? What's wrong?" Remus said immediatly, noticing her red eyes and blank expression. Lark's eyes began to fill with stinging tears again.

"Lark?" Remus promted. Biting her lower lip to keep it from trembling, Lark pulled Remus into the Common Room and closed the portrait hole behind him.

"Remus...Remus I'm so sorry but..." Lark's voice cracked. She swallowed and went on. "I...can't go to Hogsmeade with you today." Lark's voice shook and she turned away from a very confused and hurt-looking Remus. He put a hand on her shoulder.

"Why?" He asked quietly. Lark turned to him. She couldn't explain...no...saying it would make it to real for her to handle right now. She put up a finger to tell Remus to wait, and walked quickly up to her dormitory. The letter was right where she had left it, laying face down on her unmade bed. She picked it up and walked numbly back down to Remus.He was waiting, still looking confused and quite hurt. In a far, distant corner of her mind, she wondered what Remus thought. Maybe he thought that she was just forbidden to be near him because, as he had told her once in fourth year, he was a werewolf. That really didn't matter to Lark. It would never matter. He was still Remus.

Lark walked slowly up to him, holding the parchment in a slightly shaking hand. He took it and looked at her concernedly. She waved a hand towards the parchment. He turned it over. Lark watched his eyes fly from side-to-side, taking in the information that she couldn't handle. Once he had finished, he looked at Lark, sympathy burning in his eyes. Quite suddenly, Remus' arms were around her in a hug. She found this was exactly what she needed. She leaned on his shoulder and began to cry. Lark could feel him gently stroking her hair, which was wild and wavy, considering she hadn't done anything to it but brush it. Somehow, today, she didn't feel the need to straighten it. Today, things such as apparence mattered little more to her then if it was snowing or not.

"Lark," Remus whispered. "I know how you feel. Family members of mine have died too. I'm here for you, okay? I won't go to Hogsmeade...I'm going to stay here with you for as long as you need me. Even if you need me to just be a body sitting, standing whatever next to you...I'm there."

_For those of you who have lost a loved one...you understand how it feels. The sinking feeling of hurt deep in your heart and stomach. People who haven't...you could never quite understand the pain of knowing that someone you once loved is gone forever. You can no longer speak to them, laugh with them, or have any more memories with them. It is, quite possibly, the worst thing to ever happen in someone's life, the loss of a loved one._

Lark stopped crying after a few minutes. She wiped away the remaining tears and looked up at Remus, who seemed to be near tears himself. The sight of his pain because of her pain was too much for Lark. She sank down, slowly, gracefully, onto the carpet and buried her face in her hands. She felt Remus beside her and the next thing she knew, Remus had lifted her up and helped her onto the only sofa in the room. She had hardly noticed. All she did was curl into a pathetic ball and sob.

Remus sat next to Lark on the couch, watching her cry. Remus fought back his own tears. To see her in so much pain hurt him deeply, but he couldn't let Lark see his tears. He had to be strong for her. He couldn't watch her anymore. He averted his eyes from the weeping, heart-broken girl next to him.

After about three minutes, Lark sat up, wiping tears off of her face. She noticed Remus wasn't looking at her.

"Remus." She said quietly. He turned to her and looked immesly relieved to see that she had stopped crying.

"I'm sorry to have fallen apart like that." She said in the same quiet voice. Remus shook his head. He understood. Subconciously, it seemed, Lark moved closer to Remus. Thinking of what he would want in the situation, he helped her into his arms. He wrapped them tight around her waist, suddenly realizing how thin and fragile she was. He loosened his grip a bit. He heard her laugh quietly.

"I'm not made of glass, you know." She whispered. Remus couldn't help but smile faintly. He tightened his grip again and inhaled the scent of strawberries resonating from her hair, and the faint smell of jasemine and rose coming from her clothes. He gently coiled her hair around his finger. She was so beautiful...he wished he could take away all her pain and go through it for her. She leaned her head against his shoulder and looked up into his eyes. He stared down into those amber eyes of her's before doing the only thing that seemed to make sense. Remus leaned his head down and, for the second time, kissed the girl he loved.


	5. The Last Night

_Disclaimer: As we **all** know, I only own Larkime Cantrell and the rest of the Cantrell family. But, of course, we were **all** smart enough to figure that out._

**Chapter Five: The Last Night**

This is for the ones who believe their lives won't change  
Hoping that someday things will mend and be the same  
This is for the ones who have lost it all when all that's left to gain  
Is a simple reminder that the things that we're blind to slip away.  
-Amber Pacific.

The ink black sky, dotted with stars, twinkled down upon the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Larkime Cantrell sat silently upon the ledge of the dormitory window, staring out across the night. It was late, at least three o'clock A.M, but Lark could not sleep for the life of her. She knew she had to go back home and face pain and see her grandmother for the last time, lying dead in a coffin. Lark heard one of the other girls stir in her bed and looked around. No one had awoken. Lark sighed and slid off the ledge. She quietly crossed to her bed and grabbed her navy blue silk bathrobe. It slid silently onto her shoulders and Lark stole across the room and to the door. She shut it silently behind her and walked slowly down the stone staircase. Her bare feet made no noise what-so-ever as she padded across the Common Room to a chair in front of the dying fire. Lark collapsed back into it and stared into the flickering embers, thinking.

Tomorrow would be a hard day for her. The next week would be hard for her. But, as Lily had said, there was always the prospect of coming back to Hogwarts and having so much work to make up it would keep her up late for nights on end. Lark sighed. If only she had known...somehow, maybe she could've prevented her grandmother from dying...or at least prevented herself from feeling so much pain. She had never seen it coming. Lark ran a hand through her thick mass of now curly hair. People die, it's a way of life...but why did she have to feel so much pain?

A movement from the boy's dormitories shook her out of her daze. Lark's eyes were frozen on the boy's staircase. Who dared to come down here at 3:45 A.M? For a split second, Lark thought about running out onto the grounds, but no matter how late it was, there was bound to be a ghost, prefect, or worse, a teacher roaming the halls, just waiting for a rule-breaker. Now someone was coming down the stairs. Lark had no time. Even if she did try to go up to her dorm, the boy would see her. A boy with long, dark hair came into view at the foot of the stairs. Lark's already bad mood plummeted. Wonderful, just what she needed. Sirius Black.

Sirius looked straight at Lark and made a bee-line for her. Lark merely rolled her eyes and continued staring into the fire. Sirius sat right down next to her.

"What are you doing down here?" Sirius asked. Lark turned to him and gave him a withering look.

"I am just entitled to come down to the Common Room at 3:45 A.M as you are, Sirius Black." Lark's tone was a bit harsher than she intended, but she did not care at that moment. Sirius gave her a startled look.

"I didn't mean offense...I was merely curious. I know what you hide." The last sentence came out quickly and Lark could tell he had not meant to say it. Sirius looked as though he had uttered a disgusting insult and looked at Lark like she was about to blow-up. Lark, however, merely cocked her head to the side and a faint, bitter smile crossed her face.

"Do we not all hide things?" She asked quietly. Sirius looked at her with questioning, slightly fearful eyes. Lark nodded slightly and got up, preparing to go back to her dormitory. Sirius grabbed her wrist.

"I hide nothing." He whispered. Lark raised an eyebrow, and her little, bitter smile was back in place.

"Of course you do. You treat others as puppets, and you pretend to be so secure. You hide everything, Sirius Black. You are running from everything, including yourself. You do not have the ability to cope, so you get away by snogging every semi-attractive girl you meet. I know your type, and let's just say, to someone like me, you are to obvious." Lark twisted her wrist out of Sirius' grip and headed back towards the staircase, fighting back tears. Only later would she wonder why Sirius Black had come downstairs at 3:45 A.M, just like her.

The next day, Lark was waiting in the Entrance Hall for her family to arrive, standing with Lily and Remus. Lark was desperately fighting back tears, and the great oak doors opened. In came her mother and father. She had assumed that they left her other brothers and sisters at home. Lark wiped away tears and hugged Lily, then Remus. Remus held her very tightly.

"I'll send you an owl everyday Lark." He whispered in her ear. Her tears splashed onto his robes and she heard her mother mutter, _"Locomentor Trunk!" _Larkime turned and followed her mother and father down the drive, and heard the doors shut behind her. Lark looked up at the sky and sighed. She knew she was leaving behind half of her support system, and without them, she didn't know how well she could cope.


End file.
